04/15/2014

British architect David Chipperfield was chosen to build Stockholm's Nobelhuset today, more than a year after a competition to design it got underway. This 275,000-square-foot complex will house a museum and administrative center for the Nobel Prize, along with a cafe and a library. Wonder how long before TED will build a museum dedicated to itself? [Bustler]

Condoleezza Rice, known for her cameo on 30 Rockand that time she helped sell the case for the Iraq War and torture, has a new line on her resume: the boardroom of Dropbox. She'll help the cloud startup with "international expansion," which she sure knows a thing or two about.

Taking a full spoon of corn starch in your mouth and blowing on a flame while someone films it in slow motion looks like a lot of fun. Just don't do this if you don't want to burn down your home or your eyebrows, ok? OK!

Imagine what your friends will say when they notice your brand new space rocket just chillin' in the corner of your living room. Bonhams in NYC has plenty of items to make your neighbors jealous at its Space History Sale, a collection of 296 items...

Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment.
Does a fortnight of snowboarding in the French Alps with...

If you're so enamored with time travel in TV shows that even Doctor Who isn't enough, we have good news: you're about to get a lot more of it. Syfy has ordered production of a series based on Terry Gilliam's classic movie 12 Monkeys. While the show...

04/14/2014

Whether you're looking for new poses to learn or just getting started with yoga, these are the best yoga apps for iPad

What are the best iPad apps for practicing yoga on the go or AirPlaying programs to your TV? Yoga is a great form of exercise to help you lose weight, reduce stress, and enhance flexibility. One of the best things about yoga is that you can do it virtually anywhere. That's especially true with the iPad, whether you want to practice poses or complete workouts, and whether you're a yoga master or just getting started, there's something for everyone. The App Store has many yoga app options, but which ones are the very best?

Pocket Yoga

Pocket Yoga is filled with all kinds of yoga poses for you to practice and learn. You can either view them and the purpose of each on your own or perform classes. As you complete workouts you will earn in-app karma points that you can use to unlock new environments.

If you want a challenge and an app you can learn and excel with, check out Pocket Yoga.

Yoga Studio

Yoga Studio comes with HD video classes built right in and almost 300 poses. You can also create your own classes if you'd like and save them for later. Use the scheduling tool to make sure you never miss a yoga session. From beginners to mastering harder techniques and poses, Yoga Studio does a great job of spanning both areas.

Yoga.com Studio

Yoga.com Studio breaks out yoga in a way that real people who may not have much contact with it can understand. The main menu is presented like a beautiful magazine cover that is yours to explore. There are over 300 poses and video classes to choose from. You can also specify what goals you want to achieve and Yoga.com studio presents you with classes that help. For example, if you're trying to eliminate back pain, there are sessions available specifically for that.

If you want to target specific areas or eliminate focused kinds of pain, look no further than Yoga.com Studio.

Daily Yoga

The main focus on Daily Yoga is to help people wanting to lose weight or eliminate pain. Daily Yoga features both HD videos that show detailed steps of poses as well as companion music. There are over 40 yoga sessions available and 300 poses. You can subscribe via in-app purchase for even more content as well.

If you want to get into a regular routine in order to lose weight or relieve stress and pain, Daily Yoga is a safe bet.

Simply Yoga

For those that want to just start a yoga workout with zero effort, there's Simply Yoga. Instead of giving you lists of poses and classes to choose from, just select the duration and a few other things and start your workout. That's it. No more, no less. The design isn't so great but the videos are high quality and explain poses very well.

04/13/2014

That may look like an ordinary Volvo S60, but it's far from it. Inside that handsome but inoffensive Swedish body is the same technology that helped make Formula One cars so fast in the last few years — the hybrid Kinetic Energy Recovery System. That's good news if you like efficiency and speed.

11/16/2013

FILE - In this May 22, 2012, file photo,professional test driver Dave McMillan demonstrates the dashboard warning signal in a Buick Lacrosse at an automobile test area in Oxon Hill. The government is speeding up research on safety systems that automatically prevent drivers from operating their cars if they are drunk or aren't buckled properly. Officials also said on Nov. 14, 2013, that they expect to decide by year's end how to encourage automakers to make available in more cars some special safety systems already in certain high-end vehicles. Those systems warn drivers before a collision that they are about to run into another vehicle, and can brake automatically to avoid a crash or make it less severe. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - In this May 22, 2012, file photo,professional test driver Dave McMillan demonstrates the dashboard warning signal in a Buick Lacrosse at an automobile test area in Oxon Hill. The government is speeding up research on safety systems that automatically prevent drivers from operating their cars if they are drunk or aren't buckled properly. Officials also said on Nov. 14, 2013, that they expect to decide by year's end how to encourage automakers to make available in more cars some special safety systems already in certain high-end vehicles. Those systems warn drivers before a collision that they are about to run into another vehicle, and can brake automatically to avoid a crash or make it less severe. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government is speeding up research on safety systems that automatically prevent drivers from operating their cars if they are drunk or aren't properly buckled in.

Officials also said Thursday that they expect to decide by year's end how to encourage automakers to make some special safety systems already in certain high-end vehicles available in more cars. Those systems warn drivers before a collision that they are about to run into another vehicle and can brake automatically to avoid a crash or make it less severe.

As they looked ahead to emerging safety technologies, officials released data showing the first increase in highway fatalities since 2005. There were 33,561 traffic deaths in 2012, or 1,082 more than the year before.

Despite the government's best efforts, some Americans are still driving drunk, driving distracted and not wearing seat belts, David Strickland, the agency's head, told reporters in a conference call.

"These technologies are in within reach," he said. "They address the top three highway safety threats. They have the potential to significantly decrease those deaths. We only need the will to act."

The 3 percent increase in highway fatalities may be due in part to last year's unusually warm winter, which lengthened the motorcycle riding season. Seventy-two percent of the increase occurred in the first three months of the year. Most of those involved were motorcyclists or pedestrians, the government said.

Preliminary data so far this year indicates traffic deaths may be dropping again, Strickland said.

The seat belt interlocks would prevent cars and trucks from being driven when the driver or a passenger isn't buckled in properly. The agency said this potentially could save about 3,000 people a year.

The agency is examining whether it should change safety standards to allow automakers to use the devices to satisfy current government requirements for occupant protection in crash tests.

Automakers have indicated they'd prefer to install automatic systems that ensure all occupants are belted, which is cheaper than spending money on designing the interiors of cars and trucks to ensure unbelted occupants, who get thrown around in collisions, aren't injured, Strickland said. The safety administration is trying to determine whether the interlocks can be made tamper-proof and highly reliable.

The "driver alcohol detection system" differs from devices already required by some states for drivers arrested or convicted of drunken driving. In those cases, drivers usually have to take some step — often breathing into a tube — to test their blood alcohol content before starting the car.

Detection systems such as those NHTSA is researching with automakers don't require any action on the driver's part except putting his hands on the steering wheel, pushing a start button with a finger or simply breathing. The systems can detect through touch or air samples whether the driver's blood alcohol content is above the .08 legal limit. The idea is to eventually include the systems as standard or optional equipment in new vehicles, regardless of whether the driver has a history of drunken driving.

"The automatic system would be enabled every time the car is started, but unobtrusive so it would not pose an inconvenience to the non-intoxicated driver," the agency said.

The technology is still at least five years away, Strickland said.

There were 10,322 people killed in drunken driving crashes last year, a 4.6 percent increase over 2011, the agency said. Most of the drivers involved had a blood alcohol content of 0.15 or higher, nearly double the legal limit. "Such technology could save thousands of these victims every year," the agency said.

After six years of declines, the increase in drunken driving deaths is "alarming," said Jan Withers, president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. "This news is frustrating because we know what works, and we know how to stop these senseless tragedies."

The collision avoidance systems address one of the most common types of auto accidents. Last year, one-third of all police reported crashes that started with one vehicle striking the rear end of another vehicle, the agency said.

Motorcycle deaths were up 7.1 percent last year, the third annual increase. Pedestrians also experienced a large increase in fatalities, 6.4 percent. A majority of pedestrian deaths occur in urban areas at night and involve alcohol, often with pedestrians stepping into the street in the middle of the block rather than at intersections.